NATCC: Trois-Rivieres report

• natcc@motorsport.com (Kathi Elliott)
• MNI - Motorsport News International
• Fri Aug 9 09:02:20 EDT 1996

Dodge/Honda battle See-Saws at Trois Rivieres

August 4, 1996

Trois Rivieres, Quebec, Canada - Dodge won on Saturday, and Honda on
Sunday at Trois Rivieres, the fifth event in the inaugural season
of Super Touring in North America. The results maintained the tight
points race for both the Drivers' Championship, and the Michelin Cup -
the manufacturers' Championship. Honda continues the lead it took in
Toronto, now with 181 points to Didge's 176. Dominic Dobson drove his
#7 PacWest Dodge to victory on Saturday and Randy Pobst continued his
winning ways in the T.C. Kline Neuspeed Honda, by taking the chequered
flag first on Sunday. Pobst leads Dobson by a scant ten points after
rounds nine and ten.

Saturday's race saw Dobson jump into the lead on the green flag with a
terrific start from third on the grid. Polesitter Donohue had mechanical
trouble at the start, and the field had to detour around him. Hardman
bogged slightly from second spot on the grid, and lost the drag race
to the first corner with Dobson. After a couple of close laps, Dobson
began pulling away, with Hardman and Pobst dicing for position. On lap
three, the yellow flag allowed the field to bunch up once more, and when
the green flew, the T.C. Kline Hondas were once again on the bumper of
Dobson's Dodge. Dobson pulled away at first, but then Hardman began
reeling him in again. Try as he might, with passing zones so scarce at
Trois Rivieres, he could do nothing but look, and finished second to
Dobson's excellent drive.

Dobson was happy to take the win for Dodge and his PacWest team. "We
want to stay in the hunt for the Drivers' Championship and the Michelin
Cup, and this will help," he commented.

The race on Sunday demonstrated once again how important it is to start
up front at Trois Rivieres. Pobst was on pole with teammate Hardman in
second, and Dobson in the third spot behind Pobst. At the flag Pobst
launched well, but Hardman baubled slightly once again, allowing Dobson
to get by him on the inside, with another great start. For a lap or two
Dobson tried sticking his nose in on Pobst, and considered a pass on two
occasions. The opportunities happened on difficult turns on a difficult
track, and Dobson determined that discretion was the wiser choice and
held back for better options. They never arrived and Pobst proceeeded to
check out, taking a relatively easy victory.

Meanwhile, Hardman was drawing a bead on Dobson, and decided to try
passing him in Turn 1. He went down the inside hot, but exited wide,
and Dobson smoothly repassed. As this was happening, Peter Cunnigham
driving the H.A.R.T. Honda, was pursuing closely in fourth, watching
for mistakes, and occasionally threatening Hardman. The race progressed
in this order until lap 7, when David Donohue, in the second Dodge, who
had been shadowing Cunningham, lost an engine. The retirement capped a
frustrating weekend for the talented Dodge driver who had looked for a
good result.

Donohue's fifth spot was picked up by newcomer David Welch in the
Rock-it-Cargo Ford of Fastech Racing. Welch was running quickly in his
first drive in a Super Touring car, but his drive was cut short on
lap 10, when brake problems left him in the Turn 8 gravel trap. The
following lap, Cunningham pitted for electrical problems, re-entering in
seventh. Independent Steve Petty, fighting inconsistent handling in his
BMW, was rewarded a fourth for his efforts. But, at the front, it was
Pobst, Dobson and Hardman in the top three positions. All the drivers
commented on the difficulty to pass on the tight track, and remarked
on their mutual respect for the concrete barriers surrounding the 1.6
mile circuit. Donohue, for his part, commented that this had been a
bittersweet weekend for Dodge and PacWest, "Bitter for me, and sweet for
Dominic." Next weekend the Super Touring Championship moves to Mid Ohio
for the Miller Genuine Draft 200 IndyCar weekend.

For further information on the Super Touring Championship contact Mark
Turner at Performance Communications Group, Inc.

Tel (813) 880-9442

Fax (813) 885-2602